Film Review: The Smurfs

Just what is the deal about a family of blue imps living in a random invisible patch of forest, who are all named after their dominant personality traits, limit their vocabulary much of the time to the word “Smurf”, all share the same father and to top it off, live peacefully in a society where there is only one woman? As Gargamel himself jibed: “Nothing weird about that!”

In this reboot of the 1980s cartoon, of which I was never a big fan, a handful of the most memorable Smurfs, including Papa, Clumsy, Brainy and Smurfette, find themselves sucked through a portal and dumped in that famous city where all movie icons end up, New York! Here, they don’t really do much, apart from wait for the portal to reopen so they can go home…but not before winding up in the apartment of Neil Patrick Harris, the psychic guy from Starship Troopers who made us chuckle with those random cameo appearances in the Harold and Kumar films. Meanwhile, the evil wizard Gargamel is hot on their heels, with a dastardly plan to capture them and harvest their essence. In short, the premise sounds crap, and I certainly did groan when the other half suggested we watch it. I was pleasantly surprised.

Despite the constant overuse of the word “Smurf” it is actually quite difficult not to like this film. Although very simple in its structure, and clearly aimed at an easy-to-please audience, the slapstick still managed to have me laughing out loud on numerous occasions. Of notable credit was Hank Azaria, the voice of Moe and Chief Wiggum in The Simpsons, who does a grand job playing the hapless Gargamel. Along with his mocking kitty, he is absurdly inept at catching the Smurfs and spends much of the film trying to deduce the strange world that is New York, with hilarious results.

There’s precious little else to shout about though, and the merging of cartoon and reality is not exactly a smooth transition. The acting from the lead human characters, including Harris (an otherwise first rate actor), seems awkward and suggests a strained interaction with the CGI. Only Azaria comes across as truly convincing. Such issues only end up making the little blue people stand out even more against their unusual juxtaposed backdrop, and some critics might argue that the colourful world created in the original cartoons would have made a better setting. Ultimately, the result is a film which will satisfy those seeking a little light entertainment, but will most likely peeve the die-hard fans looking to relive some of their childhood. Still, I’m sure it will still manage to put a smile on the lips of anyone who is feeling a little blue.